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Holy Living
by Fr. Reid Hensarling
Colossians 3:12-17
Colossians 3:12-17: Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. See also Colossians 3:5-17.
If our faith in Christ is to be credible to a watching and dying world, then our old lives have to be put to death, and the new life of the risen Christ be replaced. Visible conduct must conform to the realities of the new life of faith. People must see our new life in Christ. The old life is dead; we must let it die. The indicative of faith (I believe) must be matched by the imperative of ethics (clothe yourselves with compassion, ...). The union of the believer with the Lord is the supreme reality, and the believer must learn to live that new reality daily in the world.
Kill off all that remains of the old life (3:5-9). We must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. Put off the old self with all its evil practices and rebellion against its Creator. Although each one of us must take the active and deliberative step of putting on the new nature, that is, putting on Christ, it is not the product of our own moral effort or will. The sovereign mercy, love, and grace of God are ultimately responsible for our new life in Christ.
The distinctive quality of new life in Christ is mutual forbearance and forgiveness, shown to us in the life and witness of Jesus. The characteristic of Christians is not that they never do anything wrong, but that they know how to deal with their faults and sins by forgiveness and reconciliation. The bond that holds all other virtues together and completes them is love. The ruling principle of our common life together must be that peace which Christ has brought to this warring universe. The church and our individual lives must be testimonies of Christ's presence and peace to world often consumed by hate, conflict, death, and destruction.
Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you, producing great blessing. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. The whole life of the believer stands under the name and in the power of Jesus Christ. Jesus provides the basis and sets the goal for the life of the Christian. We are under the authority of Christ and belong wholly to him. Everything we do and say should be done and said in the light of the fact that Jesus is Lord. Our behavior should be consistent with the character of Christ. Thanksgiving should accompany every activity because of what God has done for us through his son Jesus. Our lives are a testimony of the love of God for his people and the power of the Holy Spirit for all that confesses Jesus as Savior and Lord.
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